256F.3 - PILOT PROGRAM -- APPLICATION.

        256F.3  PILOT PROGRAM -- APPLICATION.
         1.  The state board of education shall apply for a federal grant
      under Pub. L. No. 107-110, cited as the federal No Child Left Behind
      Act of 2001 (Title V, Part B, Subpart 1), for purposes of providing
      financial assistance for the planning, program design, and initial
      implementation of public charter schools.  The department shall
      initiate a pilot program to test the effectiveness of charter schools
      and shall implement the applicable provisions of this chapter.
         2.  To receive approval to establish a charter school in
      accordance with this chapter, the principal, teachers, or parents or
      guardians of students at an existing public school shall submit an
      application to the school board to convert an existing attendance
      center to a charter school.  An attendance center shall not enter
      into a charter school contract with a school district under this
      chapter unless the attendance center is located within the school
      district.  The application shall demonstrate the support of at least
      fifty percent of the teachers employed at the school on the date of
      the submission of the application and fifty percent of the parents or
      guardians voting whose children are enrolled at the school, provided
      that a majority of the parents or guardians eligible to vote
      participate in the ballot process, according to procedures
      established by rules of the state board.  A parent or guardian voting
      in accordance with this subsection must be a resident of this state.

         3.  A school board shall receive and review all applications for
      converting an existing building or creating a new building for a
      charter school.  Applications received on or before October 1 of a
      calendar year shall be considered for charter schools to be
      established at the beginning of the school district's next school
      year or at a time agreed to by the applicant and the school board.
      However, a school board may receive and consider applications after
      October 1 at its discretion.
         4.  A school board shall by a majority vote approve or deny an
      application no later than sixty calendar days after the application
      is received.  An application approved by a school board and
      subsequently approved by the state board pursuant to subsection 6
      shall constitute, at a minimum, an agreement between the school board
      and the charter school for the operation of the charter school.  A
      school board that denies an application for a conversion to a charter
      school shall provide notice of denial to the applicant in writing
      within thirty days after board action.  The notice shall specify the
      exact reasons for denial and provide documentation supporting those
      reasons.
         5.  An applicant may appeal school board denial of the applicant's
      charter school application to the state board in accordance with the
      procedures set forth in chapter 290.  The state board shall affirm,
      modify, or reverse the school board's decision on the basis of the
      information provided in the application indicating the ability and
      willingness of the proposed charter school to meet the requirements
      of section 256F.1, subsection 3, and section 256F.4.
         6.  Upon approval of an application for the proposed establishment
      of a charter school, the school board shall submit an application for
      approval to establish the charter school to the state board in
      accordance with section 256F.5.  The application shall set forth the
      manner in which the charter school will provide special instruction,
      in accordance with section 280.4, to students who are limited English
      proficient.  The application shall set forth the manner in which the
      charter school will comply with federal and state laws and
      regulations relating to the federal National School Lunch Act and the
      federal Child Nutrition Act of 1966, 42 U.S.C. § 1751--1785, and
      chapter 283A.  The state board shall approve only those applications
      that meet the requirements specified in section 256F.1, subsection 3,
      and sections 256F.4 and 256F.5.  The state board may deny an
      application if the state board deems that approval of the application
      is not in the best interest of the affected students.  The state
      board shall approve not more than twenty charter school applications.
      The state board shall approve not more than one charter school
      application per school district.  The state board shall adopt rules
      in accordance with chapter 17A for the implementation of this
      chapter.
         7.  If federal rules or regulations relating to the distribution
      or utilization of federal funds allocated to the department pursuant
      to this section are adopted that are inconsistent with the provisions
      of this chapter, the state board shall adopt rules to comply with the
      requirements of the federal rules or regulations.  The state board
      shall identify inconsistencies between federal and state rules and
      regulations as provided in this subsection and shall submit
      recommendations for legislative action to the chairpersons and
      ranking members of the senate and house standing committees on
      education at the next meeting of the general assembly.  
         Section History: Recent Form
         2002 Acts, ch 1124, §3, 16; 2003 Acts, ch 79, §1, 7, 8; 2006 Acts,
      ch 1152, §7, 17
         Referred to in § 256F.4